ℕ𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕤 𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖!

Ok. So. We were in a lockdown. Nail salons were not open. Plus, they are still a possible breeding grounds for viral bacteria. Therefore, I harassed my boyfriend until he bought me a UV nail lamp for my birthday…last June. I then, (you guessed it) made the brave endeavour to do my nails at home. 

I had been putting it off for a while, I was working from home, no motivation, no immediate need for my nails to look nice. But a few months ago, I decided that enough was enough. I took the nail lamp out and stared at it for a while. Could I? Should I? 

𝕀 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕚𝕥!

Long story short; it wasn’t so bad. I mean my nails came out OK. I need practise, I am not the most precise artist and therefore ‘staying inside the lines’ is not really my thing. Plus, if you have ever painted your nails before, you know that the hand that one hand always looks better than the other. So…yeah. Practise will make….passable? 

What I used:

Beetles Base, Matte and top coat

Bluesky grey gel colour available on https://www.amazon.co.uk or https://www.diva-world.co.uk/

The lamp available on https://www.amazon.co.uk

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I used an eyeshadow glitter pigment with lilac / silver reflects to add a bit of glam to otherwise very boring nails and I kept it moving. Let me know what you think? 

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞:

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬

Safety – at the moment, public places which aren’t essential are completely off the cards for me. Safety comes first, which I never thought I would say over beauty! But keeping my grandfather safe is paramount. 

Easy – both the bluesky and Beetles polishes, plus the UV curing lamp from Amazon.co.uk were both straightforward and easy to use. Not rocket science, you just need to be good with your hands (wink wink) and PATIENT. 

Cheap – if you are going to the nail salon, like I was, every 3 weeks, this will save you a TONNE of money. From not going to the hairdressers or getting my shellac done (I always get nail art or chrome, which I pay £30 a time for) I have estimated that I have saved over £1250 this past 14 months. That is CRAZY to think about and it is actually reflected in my savings.  

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬

Precision – If you are not a precise artist, you have to really concentrate on what you are doing. The edges are so important as the first time I did my gel polish at home, it lifted within a couple of days as the edges were not flat, I think water got underneath. 

Patience – The UV lamps that are available on Amazon for a good price, are all fairly low power. Therefore, they take twice, even three times as long to dry your nails. It is only a couple extra minutes under the lamp, but still, something to be aware of. It is not a 60 second job. 

Steps – There are a lot of steps involved, like cleaning your nails with an alcohol wipe first, essential. Base coat, essential. 2 coats or more of polish, essential for light, nudes or pastel colours. Glitter or design, then top coat and each step takes about 2 or 3 full cycles of my lamp….making it a long old process. 

Results – If you are like me and don’t finish the edges properly or lose patience and don’t cure fully….your end result could lift in a matter of days. 

TᕼE ᐯEᖇᗪIᑕT

All in all, It is far from perfect, but I genuinely think, if savings are important to you, if money has become tight or tighter, if time is precious and you cannot make it to the salon…..this is a life-saving option! 

I am sure with practise, I will get better. Trial and error is important here, I realise why they do certain things in the nail shop like thinning their polishes with acetone and applying only 2 thin layers of colour….there are definitely inside tricks to the trade. 

But, it has given me a lot to think about. If I can get my nails done in the salon for special occasions only (which at the moment, barely exist) and then do my own at home in between, that is definitely in excess of £400 extra in my pocket every year…. I think it is so worth it! 

How have you been getting by the past year? 

Have you been to the hairdressers, nail salon, beautician yet now that lockdown has lifted? 

Would you ever try a UV lamp to do your own gel polish at home? 

xTx